# How much do fireplaces affect home values? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162 "2022-06-14T13:07:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/41 "2022-06-18T13:58:25Z")
If a buyer has small children then a house not having a bathtub could be an issue. Or if one member of the family likes to take long soaking baths. The present home we just bought does not have a bathtub and we are ok with that. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/42 "2022-06-19T01:05:28Z")
I rarely take a bath (as in soak in a bathtub) but I like having one. On occasion it helps aching muscles to soak in a hot bath. That said, most bathtubs I have had in the past are too small to be useful for much. I am not a big guy (5’7") and my last place I could only fit in the bathtub with my knees bent and out of the water and even my shoulders had to scrunch to get in. Maybe fine for small kids but useless for an adult. My current place has one that is decently sized and I have used it on occasion for an aching back (and provides much relief). But 99% of the time I shower. If there was no tub I still would have bought the place. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2022, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/43 "2022-06-19T16:40:06Z")
I used to heat with wood only. Now, it is a passive solar house, but we see -20 at night. Not often, but have to be ready for it. We used to burn 6 chords of wood a year. I gathered it for a while but it’s an insane amount of work. Fell trees, log them out and split it. I killed two gas engine log splitters. And two wood stoves. Upgrades. So I started buying already split wood. It would get dumped in the driveway. I would take my tractor load up the bucket and take it to where we could access it in the winter. Also a lot of work. It took my wife and I two weekends just stack it. And getting up on the roof to sweep the chimney on that was a scary ordeal. While I really like a real wood stove, they are a mess if you use it every day for heat. And coming home from work to a cold house kinda sucks. It takes hours for things to get up to temp. And then you are ready for bed. I made a place for a propane tank to be installed. Of course it’s not always that easy, as propane lines need buried. Rented a track-hoe. We purchased a Vermont Castings propane stove, and it did well. But the gas valve on the stove died and could not be replaced. They stopped making it. I’m still pissed off about that. We then bought this [Enviro Berkley Gas Stove](https://enviro.com/products/catalogue/product/?prod=BRK) While I love the look and crackle of a real wood fire, it does not surpass the ability to just turn on the stove when you are ass deep in snow. Summer is here now at elevation. My Wife and I play a lot of Chess and Cribbage. It’s great if you feel a chill in the air to just turn on the stove. When we retire and move to a climate that is better for humans, we will still want a stove. Propane or wood. But it will be propane if we use it for heat. Getting to old for wood stoves. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/44 "2022-06-20T23:35:12Z")
Yes to both. I take baths near daily. I have two small children. I never would buy a house without a tub. (We have two!) But, clearly, there’s plenty of people who would. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/45 "2022-06-21T12:14:42Z")
Bathtubs can go either way - some people want them and some don’t The houses in my neighborhood are on the small side as they were built around 1920. Which means the bathrooms are too small for a tub and separate shower \* so the shower is in the tub. Which was fine for years - but when/if I move, I’m looking for a separate shower, which may mean no tub if I stay in the same area. \* unless you renovate and take space from a bedroom, which is already on the small side. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/46 "2022-06-21T14:28:37Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Bathtubs can go either way - some people want them and some don’t The houses in my neighborhood are on the small side as they were built around 1920. Which means the bathrooms are too small for a tub and separate shower \* so the shower is in the tub. Which was fine for years - but when/if I move, I’m looking for a separate shower, which may mean no tub if I stay in the same area. Size is a factor, especially in apartments. When we bought our place, it had a smallish bathtub and a tiny shower stall. We had three options: keep things as they were, remove the tub and replace it with a larger one with a shower inside, or remove the tub and install a very large shower. We went with option C. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/47 "2022-06-21T18:46:12Z")
My folks are planning to renovate all 3 bathrooms in their house, and take out the only tub. They anticipate it may lower the home’s resale value, but I dunno, I think the neighborhood is already too expensive for any families with kids. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2022, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/48 "2022-06-22T01:07:23Z")
I have seen at least one “fireplace” that was a full blown facade with marble mantel, but a cylindrical “fire” that spun, creating fake “flames.” I mean, what’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2022, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/49 "2022-06-22T03:33:29Z")
About 5 years ago we remodeled our main floor. As part of it, we covered over the fireplace to make more wall space. We now use it for our TV and related. We never once used the fireplace in all the years we’ve lived here. It never gets freezing cold (if anything we have to be concerned about warmer temperatures in the future) so we could not imagine ever wanting to use it. It may make a slight difference in the sale price eventually, but that’s far off in the future. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/50 "2022-06-23T01:36:44Z")
I worked with a former architect, who when he was first starting out, was asked by a client to design a house with no toilets, only a couple of urinals. The client’s reasoning was since he was a young single male with no imminent plans on marrying, a toilet would be unnecessary. The architect brought up questions like “what if your parents or sister or friend is visiting” or “what if you really needed to poop”. His answer was they could use the gas station down the road; for himself, he would just drive five minutes to work. Oh, and he would never sell his “dream house”. Needless to say, the house plans were never completed and the house never built. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/51 "2022-06-23T02:55:11Z")
Truly the dumbest thing I have read all year (not you, but the notion of building a home with no toilet because the owner will drive five minutes to poop…never mind any guests, particularly women). ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/52 "2022-06-23T05:22:46Z")
Regarding the tv above the fireplace issue: when we bought our home we had the builder move the firebox lower so we could then put the tv above it but also use a lowerable mount ([https://www.mantelmount.com/](https://www.mantelmount.com/)) to get it to the right height. For casual viewing we leave it up higher but if we actually care about what we’re watching we pull it down. Pretty easy to do and goes right back up again if we want to have an actual fire going. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/53 "2022-06-23T07:35:36Z")
That is the cat’s pajamas. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/54 "2022-06-23T12:07:09Z")
Our old house had a large brick fireplace. It was a major pain. The cold radiating off of it in the winter was awful. One winter, after an ice storm followed by an unusual cold snap, we went about 4 days without power. So I started feeding logs to the Beast. Luckily, I had a large supply of old wood. But “processing” the wood for the fireplace took an astonishing amount of time. And the heating result was surprisingly small. It could only lightly heat one room. The rest of the house kept just getting colder and colder. Lots of negatives and the only “positive” is supposed ambience. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/55 "2022-06-28T10:42:00Z")
> [@Danger\_Man](#): > > Is this type of fireplace common at all? Go to picture number 6. We had one like this included in the apartment we built 14 years ago. Ours was actually suspended off the floor. It looked very nice and put out enough heat for the sitting room, but it was a pain getting firewood small enough to fit inside. Perhaps it is a European thing? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/56 "2022-07-01T17:25:48Z")
> [@Snipe70e](#): > > Several years back the city of San Jose was planning on outlawing fireplaces. … The real estate organization figured the value of a home that had it’s fireplace made unusable would drop by around $20,000 to $30,000. When the city attorney agreed with the agents that hte city would be held responsible for the loss in home value the idea was quickly dropped. So now the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) just makes it illegal to _use_ fireplaces a few times a year with “Spare the Air Days.” Open hearth fireplaces are illegal in new builds across the Bay Area, and there is no more exemption to use one for your primary heat source - you must use an EPA-certified wood stove. In a similar vein, I’m waiting for lawsuits against the handful of Bay Area cities outlawing natural gas cooking appliances in new builds. To me, not being able to cook with gas is a larger value-killer than not having a fireplace. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/57 "2022-07-01T17:32:47Z")
I’ve heard that many elderly people have a bowel movement only once every 2-3 days, but I find it hard to believe that a young guy goes so infrequently that he doesn’t mind hopping in the car for a five minute drive every time he has to go. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/58 "2022-07-01T18:31:40Z")
It’s affecting my home value to me quite a bit right now. Our propane stove that we use for heat stopped working last night. I think it’s the thermocouple. ---
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2022, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/59 "2022-07-05T05:03:36Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > In a similar vein, I’m waiting for lawsuits against the handful of Bay Area cities outlawing natural gas cooking appliances in new builds. To me, not being able to cook with gas is a larger value-killer than not having a fireplace. Until Calpine power plant was build the transmission lines into the Santa Clara valley were loaded past their capability to deliver power. This stupid idea of outlawing natural gas cooking appliances and heating systems if going to over load the system more than people charging their EVs at night. And rolling black out will return. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162/60 "2022-07-08T13:19:22Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > In a similar vein, I’m waiting for lawsuits against the handful of Bay Area cities outlawing natural gas cooking appliances in new builds. To me, not being able to cook with gas is a larger value-killer than not having a fireplace. I agree with this. A gas stove is a must. I can, (and did!) add a woodburner stove, (which I far prefer to a fireplace!), to my last two houses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-fireplaces-affect-home-values/966162.md?page=4)